God Is Still Writing Our Story

Like many people, my 2020 started out with great hope and joy. On January 8th we received the official referral to adopt the two beautiful girls we hosted last summer. The process had moved quickly, but not as quickly as we had hoped as there had been a few hiccups along the way. But we were still on path to bring our girls home from Colombia by the beginning of April.

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In the Midst of a Pandemic

Some seasons of life are fuller than others. In those times, I (Liz) have learned how healing it can be to just name all that I’m encountering, all of the burdens that are weighing on my soul. I did this today, to reflect and allow myself healing — in a year that’s already been full (and hard) for us both.

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"I Don't Know"

Earlier this week I was watching a YouTube series called Here's the Thing when one of the co-hosts, Angel, said this year has been "a whole lotta Inshallah." I could not agree more. “Inshallah” is an Arabic phrase primarily used by Muslims but also Arabic Christians meaning "God willing" or "if God wills." They state this before or after mentioning any plans as a reminder of who is in charge. It made me remember something my mom and grandma used to say a lot and still do when talking about the future: "God willing." I thought that meant "hopefully," but it does not; not quite. If 2020 has taught me anything, it is that we are in control of little.

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Shape a Genesis Week From Chaos

I began 2020 with a theme song. I typically choose a word for the year. I honestly cannot remember my word because this year has been so different from what I envisioned. Wait…that was my word: VISION. I digress. My song of the year came from the widely anticipated Frozen II, called “Into the Unknown.” All of 2019, I felt God was preparing me for some big changes and leaps of faith. I guess I was right, but I was also really wrong.

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Delaying In-Person Services

We want to provide an update to everyone on our plans for in person service, and thank everyone for filling out the survey for your worship preferences at this time. As of right now we are going to delay in person services due to the warning issued by Peoria City County Health Department.

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New Pastoral Intern

We are excited to welcome Heather Robertson as our new pastoral intern for the next academic year. Heather will be with us for the next year as she finishes her final year of seminary online through Garrett Theological Seminary.

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Anxiety Preparation

In a sense, the anxiety I have experienced throughout most of my life has prepared me for this moment. In my head, I would dream up scenarios such as this, so this pandemic seemed inevitable. When COVID-19 hit, while it became harder to not let those fears consume me, I also felt prepared because this anxiety that most people are experiencing right now is my normal, everyday life.

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Search Committee Update

The search committee is continuing the process of finding a new co-paster to work alongside Josh. In our last update, we had chosen four candidates to move on and had Zoom meetings with each.

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